Public and Private Provision of Railway Services: A Case Study from Slovakia

摘要

This article analyses a case study of passenger rail transport in Slovakiarnwhen operation of a commuter line to the capital city was changed from arnpublic operator to a private one. This change brought about significant changesrnin the organisation of services. The private operator RegioJet introduced newrnrolling stock, a regular and more frequent timetable, peak and off-peak pricing,rnand additional on-board services. The results were remarkable, with passengerrnridership increasing by 156% in 3 years. The article aims to compare the performancernof public and private operators on this line in order to identify the reasonsrnfor the increased ridership. A customer survey was conducted and passengersrnwere asked questions about their former and present travel behaviour. Basedrnon data from the survey, a logit model was estimated in order to identify thernfactors behind increased usage and satisfaction. The results indicate that all passengersrnmost highly valued the speed and comfort of the rail services. The newrnpassengers valued highly reliability and quality of the improved service. Thesernfactors appealed especially to women, students, and car owners who were newlyrnattracted to rail commuting.